Sept. 28, 2015
By Mike Gilbert, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Whenever Penn State was in trouble on an Ohio State attack, Cori Conley was there to keep things under control.
Conley was a major part of a dominant defensive effort by Penn State, despite heartbreaking the 2-1 defeat in the second overtime period to the Buckeyes. One thing head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss noticed was the strength of her defense, including Conley.
"The backs just did a good job, especially Cori," said Morett-Curtiss.
Conley seemed to serve as an excellent safety net on dangerous-looking attacks. She had many timely tackles, knocking balls loose and clearing the ball away from danger when the Buckeyes had possession in the attacking circle.
The defensive statistics were solid, as Ohio State's first penalty corner did not occur until overtime.
"It was good we only allowed six shots. We played really tough defense and we didn't even allow them a corner at all, except for overtime. We played really well defensively and were able to tackle outside the circle…I feel like we played a really good defensive game," said Conley.
Not one to talk about herself, Conley stressed the importance of freshman goalie Jenny Rizzo in helping send the game to overtime.
"We reacted well to the good shots. Jenny reacted well saving them, and our defense and breaking out we did a really good job with," said Conley.
The frustrating part for the Lions is they showed they are capable of going off on offense, as they scored six goals on Friday night against Michigan State. The offensive statistics from Sunday's game, though, will be something the team learns from.
The Lions had 21 shots on goal and 14 penalty corners against the Buckeyes.
Penn State did score a goal on a penalty stroke, as Brooke Birosik went top shelf and put it past Buckeye goalkeeper Liz Tamburro.
Conley explained the team's faith in Birosik's ability to knock in goals.
"She [coach Morett-Curtiss] has really good trust in Brooke with her shot," said Conley.
The defense sparkled Sunday, led by Conley, and that is something that can be built upon going into next weekend.